The present invention relates generally to a media convert type information communication system capable of receiving information sent by an arbitrary information expression medium from a sender in communications between terminals of different categories by another information expression medium desired by a receiver, and more particularly to a media convert service providing method capable of specifying the receiving media convert category and the receiving terminal category by use of a specified communication protocol.
Carriers or ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have been providing communication services involving a variety of information expression media (which might hereinafter be simply referred to as media) irrespective of voices, images and texts with developments of computers, communication devices and the Internet technology over the recent years. Each communication service is actualized by use of a different communication system, a different protocol and a different medium, and hence, unless a communication system incorporates modules for converting the media and protocols, the mutual communications could not be attained.
Recently, however, a communication system for converting a certain medium into a different medium and transmitting the information via the converted medium, starts appearing. For example, there are actually provided a service for converting the information received by an E-mail into information of a facsimile (FAX) and thus transmitting the information, and a service for taking out the information of the E-mails stacked in a server in voice by use of a telephone line.
With developments of the media convert technology such as text formatting based on a voice recognition, voice formatting based on reading out a text and text data formatting of image data of FAX etc (OCR: Optical Character Reading), a communication service for converting a plurality of different media into each other comes to its realizable stage. Further, an individual (one subscriber or terminal user) comes to have plural types of terminals. This leads to a strong market demand for one-dimensionally managing the communication data, and hence it is considered that the above communication service will rapidly spread from now on into the future.
A media convert service for integrating the media of all categories and effect the media conversion is not yet actualized, however, its method has already been proposed. For instance, according to a system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open Publication No. 11-17806, when receiving the communication information from a transmitting side, a medium is converted corresponding to a necessity on the basis of registered information on a receiving side, and thereafter the communication information is transmitted to the receiving side.
Further, many methods are proposed in order to obtained a more enhanced usability of the communication service. For instance, a system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open Publication No. 9-200250, when an E-mail requiring an urgency arrives, always monitors whether the E-mail is read or not and, if not read for a given period of time, the mail arrival or a mail content is transmitted to the receiving side by selecting a substitute communication means.
In the media convert type information communication system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open Publication No. 11-17806, no specific information transmitting means between a relay and a terminal is mentioned, and besides an informing method when an emergency occurs is not considered.
Further, according to the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open Publication No. 9-200250, there is no method of converting the medium and integrally informing of the urgency in an environment where the E-mail can not be delivered. Even when integrating the above two systems disclosed in the Publications given above, the message is unable to be transmitted in case the urgency occurs in the midst of performing the communications on a telephone, a mobile telephone etc, and therefore the information is transmitted via other converted medium, with the result that the information might not be transmitted to the terminal of a category desired by the receiver.
Moreover, the systems devised so far, when the network-sided device converts a medium and changes a destination of transmission, have no means of informing the sender of a converting method and the destination of transmission. In addition, if a power source of a terminal such as a mobile telephone and a personal computer (PC) held by the receiver is not switched ON, there is absolutely no method of transmitting a message.
Even when receiving a message requiring an urgency, simply the arrival of the message is transmitted to the communicable terminal, and the urgent matter might not be conveyed to the receiving side. The conventional systems are incapable of executing a process against a specified sender as in the case of [Annoyance Call Auto Reject Service] generally conducted in the telephone services.
In addition to these problems existing in the system, an interface for the user also has a problem. This problem is that the operation is complicated, and hence, if the number of media handled by the media convert type information communication system increases, the settings must be done for all the media.
It is presumed that the information communication services will be more diversified in their categories and the number of users will also increase, however, even if a system is configured by combining the conventional technologies, it is difficult to provide services that can meet demands of the terminal users (subscribers).